Former Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville will interview at Texas Tech tomorrow, according to the school's athletic director.

This might be the last shot for Tuberville to land a job in what has been an unusually quiet offseason for coaching changes.

Tuberville has a sterling resume, and I'd be stunned if he doesn't come across as a compelling and impressive candidate in his interview. But he likely faces an uphill battle to convince Tech administrators that he's the right fit the job.

Here's what he needs to say to the Red Raiders....

1. He embraces their offense and has no plans to change it significantly.

This one is obvious, and Tuberville is already saying the right things about Tech's explosive offense. But will anyone buy it?

Tuberville had better hope the search committee doesn't ring up Tony Franklin as a reference. Tuberville's belief in Franklin's offense -- which is about as close to Mike Leach's Texas Tech model as you'll see in the SEC -- was half-hearted from the start. Even days after Franklin's hiring, it wasn't clear that Tuberville really knew what he was getting into.

Although Tuberville has a run-first heritage, I fully believe he's flexible enough to adapt to any offense that is successful. (Franklin's offense wasn't successful, in part, because Auburn didn't have the quarterback or the personnel to make it work). But if you're Texas Tech, why not hire someone who already has that offense in their blood, rather than someone who must adapt?

2. The 2008 season was an aberration.

The 5-7 record doesn't need to be explained away. In a 14-year coaching career, you're going to have some down years. But the internal discord, the mid-season firings and the chilly climate surrounding the program in his final year must be addressed.

He needs to be frank about how the Franklin experiment failed. He must address his own shortcomings in the matter and talk about what he learned from the experience. Blaming someone else won't do. After all, he was the one who hired Franklin after -- in retrospect -- astonishing little background investigation.

Which leads directly to the next one...

3. He will put together a solid staff.

There's no question that last year's staff was "not on the same page," to put it as mildly as possible. Part of that is because his loyal core of assistant coaches could easily disregard the coordinators, who would come and go every few years, and answer directly to the head man.

Would Tuberville get the barbecue bunch -- as some fans derisively called his staff -- back together in Lubbock? Probably not.

I would imagine defensive tackles coach Don Dunn would get a call. Defensive ends coach Terry Price might also, although it would be difficult to see him leaving Ole Miss, his wife's alma mater, after just one season. Running backs coach Eddie Gran just took a job at Florida State, so he's not likely to follow Tuberville. Like Price, receivers coach Greg Knox has landed safely in the SEC and is now coaching running backs at Mississippi State. Offensive line coach Hugh Nall is now in the trucking business. The Texas Tech spread doesn't seem like the style of offense that would lure him out of retirement.

Tuberville knows a lot of people in the coaching business and probably already has a good crop of names -- and maybe even some commitments -- should he get another job.

He's made some great hires -- Gene Chizik, Will Muschamp, Bobby Petrino -- and some really bad ones -- David Gibbs, Franklin. He needs to convince Tech that he can hire an all-star staff. And he probably can.

4. He's done playing the contract games and is committed to spending the rest of his career in Lubbock.

Texas Tech has spent the last two or three years watching Leach try -- and fail -- to get his name in the mix for every opening in the country.

Administrators probably aren't eager for the annual parade of rumors that inevitably involved Tuberville in every off-season from 2004 onward.

One reason Auburn officials were glad they didn't hire Houston Nutt -- as many wanted -- is that he would have been Tuberville Redux in terms of those annual off-season distractions.

There's no doubt super-agent Jimmy Sexton does a great job for his clients. But after his last contract is negotiated, Tuberville might take a cue from Gene Chizik, who cut ties with Sexton when he came to Auburn.